DIS Research Methods and Research Questions in Humor Studies
This colloquium critically examines the present research agenda in humor studies and calls for its expansion, in terms of both the research methods being used and the types of questions being asked. The contributions of mixed methods, conversation analysis, longitudinal case studies, and acoustic analysis to …

ILTA at AAAL Colloquium - Learning-Oriented Assessment (LOA) in Classrooms: A Place where SLA, Interaction, and Language Assessment Interface
Many L2 assessment researchers (e.g., Rea-Dickins, 2003; Leung, 2005) have acknowledged the central role that assessment plays in L2 classrooms and have recognized the need to relate assessment principles and practices to teaching and learning. Empirical …

The Graduate Student Forum is a 1-day mini-conference that invites graduate students in TESOL teacher preparation programs to share the results of their research, their teaching ideas and experiences, and the materials they have developed.
Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas
Wednesday, March 20, 8:00am - 5:00pm

It's Not Just the Tool: Instructional Design for Exploiting the Potential of Social Networking
This case study explores the extent to which pre-service language teachers used Google Wave, an online writing tool and social networking site, beyond their pedagogical tasks, and the course design implications of this use. Genre-based pedagogy may be a necessary support …

40 Years Later: Updating the Fossilization Hypothesis
Fossilization, an interlanguage-particular phenomenon whereby a semi-developed linguistic form or construction shows permanent resilience to environmental influence and hence absence of further progression towards the target, is one of the most popular concepts among second language researchers and teachers. In fact, it was the empirical motivation for the …

Managing Learner Initiatives in L2 Classroom Discourse:
An Examination of Teacher Communicative Practices
Drew Fagan
Teachers College, Columbia University
Incorporating a mixture of conversation analytic and ethnographic methods, the current paper examines one teacher’s systematic management of learner initiatives and the reasoning for such management. Varied management practices will be discussed in relation to the …

September 28-29 (Fri & Sat), 2012
PLENARY SPEAKERS
Irene Koshik (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Timothy Koschmann (Southern Illinois University)
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
LANSI brings together scholars and students working on naturally-occurring data within the broad area of language and social interaction. In keeping with the LANSI spirit of diversity and dialog, we welcome abstracts …

This study analyzes the nonverbal conduct of preschool-aged bilingual/ESL (Spanish-English) students as they participate in mathematical tasks in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Using discourse analysis, presenters show that students demonstrate their engagement through gaze, gesture, and body positioning rather than talk. Such findings may aid content-area teachers in assessing student involvement.

Conference: AAAL 2011
Presentation Title: A search for specificity in understanding CA and context. Paper to be presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference (AAAL): Chicago, Illinois.
Abstract
Based on videotaped interactions from both ordinary conversations and institutional talk, this paper contributes to the ongoing debate regarding CA and context by detailing …

Conference: 12th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA)
Presentation Title: Problematic directives in pedagogical interaction
Abstract
In this paper, we describe the specific ways in which certain practices of directives can disengage learner attention, block participation, and ultimately, stifle learning opportunities. Data come from a videotaped tutoring session collected at an after-school early literacy program for ESOL …

Presentation Title: Learner initiatives in the language classroom.
Abstract
Given the centrality of learner agency in generating learning opportunities, this conversation analytic study explores the nature of learner initiatives within a corpus of 15 audio and video-taped adult ESL classes as well as the range of interactional contingencies these initiatives are harnessed to manage.

Conference: Laughter and Humor in Interaction Conference, Boston, MA. June 23-24, 2011.
Presentation title: On the Interactional Functions of Increments in Comedian-Audience Talk
Abstract
In the field of Conversation Analysis, increment is the material used after a completed turn-
constructional unit to extend the prior turn. This study looks at the interactional functions of
increments …